I have several bokusho WIP's but this is the biggest one. It's 60x48, painted as a vertical but fits this space better as a horizontal, I'll wire it both ways. As I've been doing since the onset of this series, this is also using an old or in-progress painting as a base. The red, in this case, is all that remains of the earlier attempt and it sort of works but I'm not impressed. I do like the collage portion of the painting, and feel that it could stand on it's own... I rather like the way some of the underpainting seeps through as pentimento. I'll be stretching more square canvases in the future, just using up the stalled, prepainted efforts first. When I do begin with fresh canvas, I won't be prepainting or texturizing, but working directly on the canvas with clear mediums or stains first. Am still trying to shortcut some of the laborious layers out of my process as they very often overwork the piece... I need to think more and paint less. HA! That should be interesting!
7 comments:
It looks nice. Karen, that is a great piece and it's very hard to find the right room and place for a huge painting in a flat or house. But you chose an excellent place over the fireplace.
Thanks, Max... it helps to bring work up from the studio and try it out 'in real life'. That's a handy spot for most large works and I left the digital as is to show scale, which is often lost when we crop the images.
As you know, I have a few of those large images. Thank goodness, I also have 12 foot ceilings. I think your scale is better for showing this size than mine though.
This piece is very different from what I expected from seeing the first little squares on the floor of the studio in France. -VBG-
Annette
I looked at the image before reading the words. I thought the mark on the left had been culled from all the smaller marks (footnotes/research) on the right. But then, it seemed so different. So figurative compared to the black and white clippings of the grid. I like how my brain flickered between the two worlds. It works. The simpler weight of the saturated red and black balance the more fragile black and white filigree. But I wonder if it is neccesarry? I'm anxious to see the "fresh" canvas attempts. And the square seems to be the right direction too. No up or down. No horizon or portait. No scar tissue from previous adventures. Maybe shortcuts could be to paint on wallpaper, upholstery?
Annette, I didn't know where I was going at the time but it was sure the beginning of sumthin'! I'd been poking around with making my own collage papers before France, but the trip sure brought it all together.
Steven, your critique makes me look at the piece with new eyes... and that's a good thing. I really appreciate your comments... much food for thought.
LOVE it Karen -
Robin
I absolutely love this. And I love that the underpainting seeps through. I've been thinking about wabi-sabi lately, and the underlayers sort of represent that kind of change to me. Very wonderfully done. And if it was laborious, I have to think it was SO worth it.
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